The weekend started with a flurry of activities: a haircut and wedding gift to buy on Saturday morning, which led to an afternoon of clothes shopping (successful!), followed by a rolicking night out with the girls. I woke up late the next day and wanted to go for a ride–a real ride, not an around town shopping kind of ride. But I also wanted to buy a gift for friends with a new baby, deliver it and take time to hold the little guy. And I needed groceries.
But I really really wanted to get out to the trails now that they’re finally lush and green after the winter rains.
On days I do long road or trail rides, it’s hard to do errands too. Once I get home all tired and sweaty the last thing I want to do is hop on another bike for a grocery run, especially after I’ve relaxed in the shower. The only thing less appealing is driving my car to the trailhead or ride start just so I can do errands on the way home.
To get it all done in an afternoon I turned to Liberty, my cyclocross bike turned off-road touring machine. She has knobby tires and low gears for trails in the foothills, a road bike geometry for efficient cross-town riding and a lightweight rack and small panniers for shopping. Liberty gives me freedom to do it all.
A gift was bought, a baby was held, and groceries was checked off my list. In between it all was a refreshing 27 mile road + trail ride with views across the bay on a clear spring-like day. I love having Liberty.
When you’re pinched for time, how do you squeeze in time for a good long ride AND get your errands done?
bicycletravels
February 26, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Nicely done! I like the name “Liberty”. Do all your bikes have names? And how many bikes do you have? I’m just about to welcome a new bike to my stable. I can pick her up next Saturday and she is a 29er… I’m so excited. And thanks for liking my blog. I love yours!
ladyfleur
February 26, 2013 at 2:13 pm
Oh, gosh. How many bikes? I avoid that question because I lose track. They are: Liberty, Viva Juliett (red Dutch bike), Susie Q PUBLIC (white mixte), Ginger Spice (touring bike), Zella Mae (old fully rigid MTB with racks, fenders), Scarlet Ibis (dual suspension MTB), Blaze of Glory (cyclocross race bike), Black Beauty (road bike), Lily Lemond (old steel road bike) and Izumi (vintage road racer). So that’s 10. Yikes, one more than I thought.
You can see most of them in this post, except for Susie Q and Ginger, who I bought more recently. http://wp.me/p1sDc4-UN I ride six of them regularly. I probably should sell Lily, but she’s got sentimental value.
bicycletravels
March 4, 2013 at 2:23 am
Well, that’s what they say! The ideal number of bikes to have is n+1 with n = the number of bikes you currently own.